After reading just one entry in Trudy’s diary after work, Daisy fell asleep on the couch that night. She was startled awake after midnight when the phone rang, jarring her from a lovely dream about Prague.
“Hello?” she answered with a yawn.
“Daisy, this is Brian. I’m sorry to wake you.”
“Brian?” Daisy shook her head to wake up, not remembering for a moment who Brian was. “Oh, Brian. Hi.”
“Did you talk to Mark John today? I can’t seem to get in touch with him.”
“He was still at work when I left. As far as I know he was there all day. I don’t know where he went after I came home, though.”
Daisy suspected her words had upset Brian. There was an edge of anger in his voice when he replied. “He must be ignoring my calls. I need to talk to him about something.” Daisy didn’t ask what that something was, but it had to be important, she presumed, or Brian wouldn’t have called her at home and so late at night.
“I’m sorry, Brian. I wish I could help.” She didn’t know what else to say.
“That’s all right. I’ll swing by his house to talk to him.”
Daisy didn’t reply except to say good-bye. She couldn’t imagine what could be so important that Brian would need to leave his own house to go in search of Mark John at such an hour. The man was obviously anxious about something. She was too tired to give it any more thought, though, and tumbled into bed.
The next day Daisy didn’t go into the office. She had enough work on her laptop to stay occupied at home, and she loved to work remotely on occasion. And as a bonus, she was able to eat lunch at her own kitchen table in peace and quiet.
It wasn’t until after lunch that she received the call from Jude. “Daisy,” she began breathlessly, “Brian was here and he was upset about something. He says he talked to you in the middle of the night about Mark John. What did he say?”
Daisy was startled. “I just told him Mark John was in the office all day yesterday and I didn’t know where he went after I left work. That’s it. What’s the matter?”
“Mark John doesn’t want to talk to him. He says Brian is losing his mind and he wants nothing to do with him.”
“So have they spoken?”
“No. As soon as the receptionist called Mark John to tell him Brian was in the Global Human Rights vestibule, Mark John left through the emergency exit in the back and I haven’t seen him since.”
“What did Brian say?”
“It’s not what he said, it’s what he did. He ran into the suite even though the receptionist told him to stay in the vestibule, and he went running through the office, slamming doors when he couldn’t find Mark John. Then he left. He was crying, Daisy. I’ve met Brian a hundred times and he doesn’t seem like the type of man who cries in public. I’m afraid of him. The receptionist wanted to call the police, but I know Mark John feels sorry for Brian, so I told her not to.”
“It sounds like Brian’s behavior is escalating, though I guess we should let Mark John decide what to do about him.”
Jude’s voice had a tentative note to it when she spoke. “You haven’t heard from Mark John in the last half hour, have you?”
“No. I’m sure he’ll call you before he would think to call me.” Daisy felt both amusement and a twinge of pity for Jude, who still seemed insecure about Mark John.
“If you hear from him, let me know, will you?” Jude asked. “Like you said, I’m sure he’ll call me first, but you know, just in case I don’t hear the phone or something and he can’t get in touch with me.”
“I will,” Daisy assured her. “But don’t forget, Mark John is a big guy. He can take care of himself. He probably wants some time alone to figure out what to do about Brian.”
Daisy hung up and just a few seconds later Helena called. “Pretty please, won’t you go out with that guy I told you about? Dave—remember? He’s a friend of Bennett and I told him all about you. He’s recently been through a breakup and Bennett’s trying to get him out and interested in women again. We can make it a double date on Friday.”
Daisy sighed. “Helena, I really don’t want to go out with anyone, and especially not someone on the rebound.”
“For me? Please? Bennett and I would really appreciate it. I’ll be forever in your debt.”
Daisy laughed. “All right, I’ll do it. But only as a favor to you and Bennett, not because I’m interested in Dave at all. Please make that clear to him before we meet on Friday.”
She could hear from Helena’s voice that she wore a wide smile. “Thank you! I’ll give you a call tomorrow and let you know what the plan is.”
Daisy shook her head as she hung up the phone. She hadn’t been on a date in a long time. Not since Dean. But she forced her mind away from thoughts of New York and turned her attention back to the diary. She found, however, that she couldn’t concentrate on Trudy’s words. She was already nervous about Friday and was regretting her decision to agree to go on a double date. But Helena will be there and she’ll talk to Dave first. It’ll be fine. Daisy eventually convinced herself that Dave was going to be completely harmless and was able to get back to work on her research and writing assignments.
That night she sat at her kitchen table leafing through a magazine and eating a grilled cheese sandwich when the phone rang. It was Grover.
“My party for Friday night just cancelled because of Walt’s murder.” Daisy could hear the pain in his voice.
“Oh, Grover. I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“Not much I can do about it,” he replied with a sigh.
“Have the police said anything to you?”
“They came over to tell me not to leave the DC-Virginia-Maryland area. Sounds like I’m getting closer to being named the prime suspect.” Another sigh. This was devastating.
“Maybe not,” Daisy tried to reassure him. “Maybe they have more questions and just want you to stay close by.”
“We’re both smarter than that, Daisy.”
“I’m trying to figure it out, Grover. I just don’t know where to look for answers.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Grover said. “Are you busy Friday? I thought we could go to a lecture at George Washington University. There’s a guy talking about his experiences in Tibet. I can’t just sit around doing nothing. I need to do something. That’s assuming I won’t be in the lockup.”
Daisy groaned inwardly. She had always wanted to visit Tibet.
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I wish I could go.”
“What do you have going on?”
“Ugh. I agreed to go on a double date with Helena. Against my better judgment, I might add.”
“So you’re going out with that guy she was talking about at dinner the other night?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. I thought you said you weren’t interested in anyone.”
“I’m not. I’m doing this strictly as a favor to her.”
“Well, there’ll be other lectures. Or not. Whatever.”
“Oh, I’m sure there will be other lectures,” she hastened to assure her friend. “We can go to a different one sometime. Are you busy Saturday afternoon? We could do something then.”
“I have a graduation party. Again, as long as I’m not in jail.”
“You won’t be in jail, Grover. Keep your attitude positive. What are you doing for dinner tomorrow? Want to meet somewhere?”
Grover hesitated before answering. “Actually, I have to get some paperwork done in the shop and tomorrow night is the only time I have to do it.”
“All right, then. I’ll see you next week.”
“See you later,” Grover said, then hung up.
Daisy was a little worried about Grover. It seemed clear his nerves were stretched taut.
She took the diary with her when she went to bed that evening. She pulled on her white gloves, which were by now getting brownish-gray from the dust on the diary, and settled back against her pillow to read. It was a good thing it was so interesting, because she was worried about Grover.